Johnston County Board
of Education

report from May 12 meeting

All board members were present (via remote hookups):
Chairman Todd Sutton, Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms,
Peggy Smith, Mike Wooten, Tracie Zukowski


Budget includes savings from 23 jobs
to be cut from the Central Office staff
Spending cuts announced as the board adopted its 2020-21 budget on Tuesday include 23 administrative positions in the school system's Central Office and a $1.5-million reduction in the anticipated expense for Johnston's Exceptional Children's Program.

Ronald Johnson, a member of the board's Finance Committee, disclosed the Central Office cuts that he said will be made over a 12-month period for an annual savings of $1.7 million. Specific jobs to be eliminated were not discussed at Tuesday's meeting, although Interim Superintendent Ben Williams indicated part of that will be accomplished by not hiring replacements for Central Office retirements.

Here are other highlights of the adopted budget presented by Dr. Williams following talks with county officials as well as school-board members:

• 3% salary increases for teachers and other locally paid employees to cover what the N.C. General Assembly may approve this spring for state-paid teachers who make up the bulk of the public-school work force throughout North Carolina.

• A corresponding increase in funding for local teacher salary supplements, which are calculated as fixed percentages of base pay according to years of service. The $15,471,466 proposed for those supplements this coming year is by far the largest single line item in the county-funded budget for Johnston's schools.

• A cut of $1.5 million in contracted financial services as a result of renegotiation of some contracts and elimination of others, according to Dr. Williams.

• Unchanged for another year is a $440,000 line item for legal services --- an expense currently under study by the school board that may lead to employment of a full-time staff attorney as a cost-saving measure.

The reduction in budgeted expense for Exceptional Children is apparently the result of recommendations from the recent Wellness Audit of the school system's finances and operations. A key recommendation is to put a stop to "over-identification of students for EC-directed services." Another is to move some of the program's expenditures from local to federal funds.

Despite the cuts preceding Tuesday's approval of the budget, board member Terri Sessoms repeated a warning she issued last month: "There will be more cuts. There's not way around it," she declared.

The school board's budget now goes to County Manager Rick Hester, who will unveil his recommendations for the overall county budget later this month --- in time for a public hearing before the County Commissioners on June 1.

VIEW the entire budget posted on the school system's website>
EDITOR'S NOTE: Scroll down to the bottom of the page to open tabs for each section of the budget spreadsheet.


AN UPDATE ON REMOTE LEARNING DEVICES

Delores Gill, chief of operations and communication, gave the board an update on efforts to provide students with Internet WiFi access in under-served areas of the county. With a donation from AT&T the school system has acquired four portable hot-spot units to add to six others previously purchased, she said. Johnston's schools are also partnering with Sprint and the 1Million Project Foundation to provide free Internet access to 750 households that lack it, she added. It's all part of a nationwide push to close a "digital divide" that keeps many students from taking advantage of remote learning at home, especially during the shutdown of public schools because of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Johnston's schools, as all other systems across the state, have a deadline of July 20 to submit local plans for remote learning as they prepare for the 2020-21 school year.


REVISED 2020-21 CALENDAR COMING NEXT MONTH

Speaking of the 2020-21 school term, Brian Vetrano, chief of human resources and financial services, told the board he will be meeting with "a small sampling" of the system's Calendar Committee to develop a revised schedule in light of the N.C. General Assembly's approval of an earlier opening of school this August --- on the 17th rather than a week earlier as originally planned. He said the new schedule should be ready for the board's approval at its June 9 monthly meeting.

 
FIFTH GRADERS GOING BACK TO SELMA ELEMENTARY

The board approved a plan to return fifth-grade classes to Selma Elementary School, starting with the upcoming school term. In recent years those classes have been housed at Selma Middle School because of classroom-capacity issues. The board was pleased to learn that 90% of parents, teachers, and others endorsed the change.
MONTHLY PUBLIC COMMENTS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Because Tuesday's meeting was held via remote hookups because of coronavirus restrictions, "Public Comments" usually allowed in person were posted online in written format instead. Two persons submitted statements this month: April Lee, president of the Johnston County Association of Educators who complained about the public's inability to make live comments during remotely conducted board meetings; and Rick Mercier, a candidate for election to the school board who asked for "a virtual meet-and-greet type of event" to enable the public to talk with finalists for Superintendent of Schools. Their comments in full may be read in attachments to the agenda for Tuesday's meeting posted online>


REASSIGNMENT REQUESTS APPROVED, DENIED
As part of its consent agenda requiring no discussion, the board approved and denied numerous requests for reassignment of students to schools outside the attendance districts where they reside. This month's lists, which give reasons for either approval or denial, are longer that those approved in recent months.

View this month's list of APPROVALS>

View the list of DENIALS>


CONTRACT AWARDED FOR FRESH PRODUCE

The board awarded a contract for providing produce to the cafeterias of Johnston's schools to R&H Produce Company of Raleigh, which submitted the lower of two bids. View the company's bid sheet in full, posted on the school system's website>


VEHICLES PURCHASED FOR FACILITY SERVICES

The board approved purchase of two vehicles to replace "aging" models used by Facility Services: a 2019 Ram ProMaser City Tradesman van for $21,769 from Deacon Jones of Smithfield and a 2018 Chevrolet Express G2500 van for $16,996 from Capitol Auto of Smithfield. A memo to the board noted that funding for the purchases comes from contingency money left over from a recently completed Emergency Heat Repair project at the school system's West Campus administrative quarters in the former home of Smithfield Elementary School.


SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH PROCEEDING ON SCHEDULE

Board Chairman Todd Sutton reported that the search for a new Superintendent of Schools is "moving along nicely" toward the goal of having the position filled by July 1. "We're very pleased with the process so far," he said as he complimented the N.C. School Boards Association for its contracted assistance with the search. The board has been conducting interviews with candidates behind closed doors and will meet again in a special closed session on personnel on Thursday, May 28.
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